Summer Fades To Fall
by Tears Of Shadow
Summary: Tenten never wanted to go on vacation, but her friends made her. She ends up meeting the love of her life, Neji Hyuga. Summer has to come to an end though, along with her vacation. How will she handle leaving Neji to return home? NEJITEN NaruHina ShikaIno
1. Chapter 1 Vacation Begins

I really hate writing the first chapter, it's really hard. I find it can get really boring with all the introductions and setting the scene. Read on though, it will get better.

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Tenten stood up when she saw the black car approaching.

When it came to a stop, her boyfriend stepped out.

Chad's wavy, shoulder length hair was dyed black this week.

"Ready?" He glanced at her luggage.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She muttered.

"This trip will be good for you. What else would you do during the summer?" He began loading her bags into the car.

"Summer school." Tenten grabbed the handle of the car door to get in.

"No, no. Allow me." He opened the door and held a hand out.

"Chad." She hated how he was trying to act more like her boyfriend now.

She stepped into the car, ignoring the hand he offered to help her in with.

"You can't rely on school for entertainment. You also don't need summer school, your marks are amazing." Chad said as he got into the driver's side.

She didn't answer to that.

Tenten didn't want to believe what he was telling her.

It was summer break, a time for celebrating and relaxing.

Yet, here she wanted school to start again.

She preferred doing homework instead of anything related to her social life.

That's why Chad was her boyfriend.

He had been a close friend since the playschool days. He wouldn't dump her or pressure her into a bigger relationship.

Though it seemed he was really trying to act like her boyfriend.

Tenten viewed their relationship as it had always been.

Good friends.

She had asked him out only because she didn't want any other guys near her. She was scared of forming relationships, especially with boys she barely knew.

Now that she had Chad as a boyfriend, no boys would be near her.

She had never told Chad why she asked him out, but he seemed to understand.

Of course there were times when they had to actually convince other people they were dating.

Or were they convincing themselves?

Tenten shook her head to get rid of those kinds of thoughts.

Then she realized Chad wasn't talking.

"What are you going to do when I'm gone?" Tenten had to admit, she was curious.

"Courtney needs rollerblade lessons, Martha is having a crazy party, Debbie is taking a bunch of us camping, and….." Chad stopped when he saw Tenten's face turn to an uninterested look.

"Girls." She said flatly.

"The girls just seem to make all the plans." Chad said quickly.

Tenten turned her head back to the window.

She knew there was a reason why they were all girls.

She didn't understand why he didn't talk to her about dating other girls.

Tenten was relieved when they pulled into the Hyuga's driveway.

She rushed out of the car before Chad could open the door for her.

She hauled her bag out of the backseat and was surprised to find Chad behind her.

He reached past her and lifted the sleeping bag out.

"See ya." He gave a friendly smile.

She gave a small smile back.

Tenten liked when no one was around to see them. Chad would act normal, like they were only friends.

"Tenten!" Three girls raced each other to their brunette friend.

"Aww. They're saying goodbye." Ino clapped her hands together gleefully.

Tenten could see Chad's shoulders slump, she guessed he knew she only wanted a simple goodbye.

"Goodbye." He muttered pathetically.

His last action before going back to his car was placing a small peck on Tenten's cheek.

"Your Skater boyfriend is adorable." Sakura whispered as Chad slid into his seat and drove away.

Tenten just shrugged at the comment.

"Hiashi is ready to drive us." Hinata said easily, now that she didn't stutter every time she spoke a word.

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Tenten was glad she didn't pack as much as Ino and Sakura.

Those two were behind, dragging their bags and suitcases.

Their faces showed they were excited for the upcoming vacation.

The girls had slept the whole drive; most of them were grumpy from waking up early.

Tenten sighed when she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket.

Hinata had told her bringing a cell phone was important; she gave many examples of how they could come in handy.

Tenten thought she was just being overdramatic.

She pulled out her phone, upset that Chad wasn't being himself and was calling her.

She relaxed when she saw it was only a text message.

_'How's vacation?'_

Tenten mentally slapped herself.

He should have known she was busy travelling, especially since they had to walk all the way to the cabin.

Tenten's eyes wandered over the view, enjoying the lake and the cabins.

_'Phone's dying'_ was her reply.

Her excuse was lame, but she knew Chad would believe her.

She knew her phone would be fine for a lot longer, she had charged it the night before.

Before she could receive his answer, she turned her phone off.

Tenten decided she wouldn't be turning it back on for a long time.

"I can't believe how many times your dad went over the rules." Ino grumbled as she dragged her bags.

"He's just worried. This is the first time I've brought friends to the cabin. He also comes with me every time, but work kept him from coming this time." Hinata tried to save her father.

"Is that it?" Tenten asked as she spotted a cabin not too far away.

"No. That's……the other one."

Tenten gave a puzzled look.

"It's that one." Hinata pointed at an identical cabin.

The only difference was Hinata's cabin was on a small hill.

Grass surrounded the cabins, but not too far away was a beach.

What had Hinata meant by the other one?

Tenten knew they were staying at only one cabin, so who owned the other?

"It's mostly downhill from here." Hinata shouted back at her other friends.

The blonde and pink picked up their pace.

Hinata returned her gaze to the uneven ground.

She wouldn't look at Tenten, she knew her friend would want an explanation.

She wouldn't tell her.

Hinata wanted to keep Tenten away from him, she didn't know how well her friend could handle the boy she knew would be there.

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Tenten liked the cabin, especially where her room was.

When they walked through the door, they found the living room.

Connected off that was the 4 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen.

Tenten flopped on her bed, trying to decide how she was going to stay entertained on this vacation.

Her room was located at the end of the cabin, with two windows that looked out over a grassy hill.

"Tenten, are you coming to the party?" Ino asked as she gobbled down her yogurt.

Tenten was wishing the girls would leave her alone for awhile, she was still upset about Chad saying she needed to find amusement from something besides school.

Maybe she should get a job.

"No." She said it flatly to show her little interest in the idea of partying.

She didn't want to go at all.

She hated dancing and she hated the crowded people.

"You are always a nuisance when it comes to parties." Sakura said sulkily.

Tenten looked away from the girls.

"Why come on vacation if you aren't going to do anything fun?" Sakura stuffed part of a sandwich in her mouth.

Tenten didn't know what to say to that.

It was true, she was boring.

"We'll be there together. Will you please come?" Hinata said quietly.

Tenten looked back at her friends, thinking about what to say.

Chad had said she needed a vacation; he was one of the people she trusted the most.

She hadn't done anything fun in a long time; perhaps it was time to rest from her shielded life.

"Only if there is good music."

Hinata smiled to encourage her friend, while the other two began talking about the location of the dance.

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Tenten continued to doodle on the piece of paper she had taken out of her scrapbook.

The other girls were out on the grass, deciding where to place the lawn chairs.

Tenten turned when she saw movement out of the corner of her eyes.

"Hey there!" A bright blonde boy seemed to bounce over to where she was sitting.

The other girls glanced up at the porch, wondering what the commotion was all about.

"Naurto!" That was the loudest Tenten had ever heard Hinata call someone's name.

Said boy, turned to give Hinata a bright smile.

He received a blush and a smile in return.

Tenten tried to stay unnoticed, she would be happy if they just ignored her.

Two more boys came up from behind Naruto.

The brunette slouched against the wall, supposedly exhausted with the pointless walk to the cabin.

Naruto introduced him as Shikamaru, and then introduced a cool looking raven hair boy who only nodded as a greeting.

"Where's….." Hinata looked at the boys expectantly.

"At the cabin." Sasuke replied calmly, watching Hinata's face.

Tenten looked up in time to catch Hinata blush at how rude she must have sounded.

She wasn't very interested in that though.

Why did Hinata seem like she was ignoring someone?

Who was it?

Tenten couldn't help her curiosity from rising.

She barely listened as Hinata introduced all the girls.

Tenten looked over at the other cabin, where the boys stayed.

"Yeah! We are going to the dance tonight." Naruto must have been answering someone's question.

"All of us." Sasuke said as he glanced at Tenten.

She quickly turned back to her doodling, knowing she was caught staring at the cabin.

Perhaps, just perhaps, there was a good reason to go to the dance.

Tenten shook her head, the reason she was going was to prove to herself she could have fun.

She didn't listen to any other conversations and decided just to think about whom was in the other cabin.

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Wow. First chapter is done! It took me forever to actually start writing again, but now that I started again I just can't stop! Hopefully I don't run out of ideas. Lol. Very unlikely.

Please Review!


	2. Chapter 2 Lonely

Second chapter! This chapter took a lot of work for me to write; I ended up giving up and just updating what I did. So here it is.

Tenten hopefully will go through a character change soon. You know, be happier. Read on!

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Tenten glanced around, trying to remember which way her friends had gone.

Her friends almost had to drag her to this party.

She didn't think she was that boring, reading books were quite interesting.

Why did she have to come to a party instead of relax at home?

Tenten slipped through the people standing at the door, who were talking about nothing important.

She tried desperately to look for her friends; she didn't think losing them at this place was a good idea.

She had to talk herself out of dancing with some guy, then when she turned around all her friends were gone.

They probably thought they could get her to dance.

Tenten decided her best solution to her problem was to go to the snack table.

Her friends would have to come here sooner or later.

She spied the nacho chips and began to eat her worries away.

Tenten wasn't use to this kind of environment.

The music was too loud and there were sweaty people everywhere.

Why did people find parties fun?

She wondered if she should return to their cabin, where she knew would be safe and quiet.

She looked to the side when someone put a new tray down.

Drinks?

A few kids around, grabbed a glass and headed back to their dancing.

Tenten chewed on her lip as she stared down at the drinks.

Punch?

She didn't know what to believe.

What if it was spiked?

Tenten tried concentrating on all the information she had heard about not trusting drinks at a party.

Her lips almost twitched into a smile.

This was playing with danger.

All the time she played safe, keeping away from people and hiding in her own thoughts.

Making barriers were one of her specialities.

She even kept a distance from her friends, who all believed she loved Chad.

They even believed she actually liked herself.

Tenten mentally sighed.

She sounded pathetic.

Her hand snapped out and grabbed the drink before she could think more on the situation.

What was so wrong with taking chances?

This was a party after all, which means she shouldn't be drowning in self pity.

She slid her hand more firmly around the glass, staring down at the untrusting drink.

Being dangerous for one night wouldn't hurt.

Tenten was tired of having everyone not know the true her.

She would surprise them all; her friends would see another side.

She gulped the glittering liquid as fast as she could, enjoying the smooth feeling as it went down her throat.

Her body relaxed and she felt warmer.

Tenten, finally, let her guard down.

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Neji sat up from lying on the soft ground.

The breeze was perfect; the only thing disturbing it was the sounds coming from the nearby cabin.

He enjoyed the sounds of the music which flowed quietly through the air.

He just hated the voices of the teenagers partying inside.

Neji had come with his friends to the party, hoping to find something to do while on vacation.

Another disappointment.

It was the same kind of party he could go to anywhere.

This vacation kept getting worst.

At least this year he had his friends.

Though that didn't seem to improve the vacation.

His thoughts were stopped when he saw a girl stumble down the path not too far from him.

He sighed as he realized she was drunk.

He tried to take his gaze off her, but his eyes betrayed him and kept going back.

Neji grumbled at himself for getting into a mess like this, but still got up to help her.

"Need some help?" He asked with not much concern.

The girl tried to make eye contact with him, but her senses were affected by the drinks she had consumed.

She was able to shove him and sway on forward.

Neji's eyes were wide from the way she had reacted.

A girl had never shoved him before.

This seemed to spark a new emotion in him.

"I can help you back home." This time his voice sounded more interested.

She had stopped and was trying to figure out why the ground kept swirling even though she wasn't moving.

He took this to his advantage and walked up to stand beside her.

Her body, naturally, leaned sideways towards him.

He was the only thing that could support her.

"I don't even know where home is." Came her voice, through slurring and pauses.

He hoped she wasn't a regular drunk; her voice would be so beautiful without the alcohol affect.

After listening to her voice, he went over the words she said in his head.

She was either a new cabin owner or she came with someone else.

Neji hoped she had come with her friends.

"Is there anyone who…." His question was cut short as she slouched and almost fell over.

His face turned into an expression of disgust as she threw up near his feet.

Neji didn't know what to do…

He had never been faced with a situation that involved helping someone through this kind of state.

Making it even harder was the fact that she was a girl.

Neji hadn't spent any time with girls; he actually tried to avoid them.

They could get quite obsessive and clingy.

Yet this one had shoved him away at first sight.

He tried to deny that, she was drunk and was disoriented.

He snapped out of his inner turmoil as the girl sagged to the ground, choking back tears.

Neji stepped over the mess she had made and gently pulled her off the ground.

This time she didn't fight back.

He wondered what was going on.

What was she thinking about?

What would cause her to just start balling?

Neji turned around and tried to spot anyone who may be looking for the girl.

No one stood out.

She just let herself collapse, falling against his back.

"You better not be a creep." He tried not to laugh at that because her words seemed so clear.

He arched his back a little and she took the hint.

She gave a small jump for him to be able to get her on his back.

He straightened as he grabbed her legs securely.

She was reluctant to lean against him anymore and kept her head as far away as possible.

"What's your name?" He had to create conversation if he wanted to figure out where to take this girl.

He needed to find out more about her, hopefully he could figure out where her cabin was.

That was his excuse though.

In reality, his curiosity towards this girl was controlling his words.

"Tenten…" Her reply took forever; he had no idea if that was because of the alcohol or her fear.

"Do you usually get people to carry you home when you get drunk, Tenten." His voice had humour in it and he was surprised to see how easily he could joke with her.

He liked her name too, so simple.

He guessed she wouldn't be simple though, which made him more curious to see what she really was like.

"My first time." He could hear the hint of anger in her voice.

He relaxed at that, he didn't want to find out she was always a drunk.

"What made you do it?" He hesitated to ask this question, it seemed too personal.

The girl finally let her head rest against the back of his shoulder.

Her brown hair that had escaped her buns and was tickling his exposed neck.

"I hate myself."

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Neji sat on the couch, a few hours after leaving the girl.

He had returned her to the only girl he trusted in this area, his cousin.

He did not miss the relief in Hinata's eyes when Neji had brought Tenten to her cabin.

Tenten was staying at Hinata's cabin.

_"I hate myself."_

Her voice just kept ringing in his mind.

How could someone, a _drunk _someone, have such an affect on him.

People could become totally different after they had a few drinks, perhaps she was just not herself tonight.

Either way, she was affecting Neji.

Neji didn't know what was going on with him.

He was fighting with himself, something he hadn't done in a long time.

Something had compelled him to go to her.

He wished he could blame it on some unnatural energy, like he was forced to care for her.

Another side of him wished something had been triggered when he saw her.

He was sure something happened.

Perhaps he finally realized how lonely he was.

Neji grumbled to himself for thinking that way.

He continued his mind melee as he walked tiredly to his room.

He was Neji Hyuga; his pride shouldn't be ruined just because he met some drunken girl.

He was not lonely.

He definitely did not care who she was.

His hand snapped up to his neck.

Neji stared blankly at his wall, horrified that he had just imagined the ticklish sensation of her hair on his neck.

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Tuh dah. Done chapter 2. I hope you liked it. I love making Neji have fights with himself, so much fun. Lol.

Review please!


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